Turning off the Lights in Phoenix

On Saturday, March 29th, 2008 at 8 pm local time, many businesses and individuals from around the world are going to participate in Earth Hour. If you're wondering what Earth Hour is, it's an energy conservation awareness event that began in Australia in 2007. For one hour, people turn off their lights and non-essential electronics in order to raise awareness about saving energy and lowering carbon emissions. The event is sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund.

One particular city that has received attention for its upcoming participation in Earth Hour is Phoenix, Arizona, which will reportedly turn off all the lights for the city-run buildings downtown. Shutting the downtown lights off for a large city seems to be quite the ordeal. "It sounds easy, but its kind of sticky, when you're talking about big, tall buildings, ball parks and convention centers," commented Leslie Aun, a World Wildlife Fund representative. "There's a whole electrical system that really isn't designed to be turned on or off. So to actually pick a specific time in the day and have all of these buildings go off at the same time is quite a logistical challenge."

Millions of people around the world will be participating in Earth Hour on Saturday, March 29th. To find out how you can help be a part of history, read more at Earth Hour. Likewise, AZCentral has more details about Phoenix and its participation.

High-Speed Internet on the Rise

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently released its data concerning the overall penetration of high-speed Internet connections in America. To gather this information, the FCC asks providers to give some basic information a couple of times a year.

As of June 30, 2007, it seems that high-speed connections increased by 22 percent "from 82.8 million to 100.9 million lines in service, following a 27 percent increase, from 65.3 million to 82.8 million lines, during the second half of 2006." What's interesting is that many of the "advanced" high-speed connections are to homes and domestic residences. And while there are over 100 million broadband connections, it seems that America is still ranked 15th in terms of the scope of its broadband use.

If you want to find out more about the FCC's data for broadband internet, you can read about it at Government Technology. Are you one of the millions that has yet to enter the broadband world? Moving and need to find the best service in your area? Find the high-speed internet service that works for your situation.

UCF Students Save Energy for Scholarships

Last month, students at the University of Central Florida held a competition. And no, the NCAA was not involved. This particular competition had students squaring off to see who could save the most energy. The record-setting results have come in, and it seems that the students gave UCF a good show for green energy.

Nearly "6,000 students reduced their energy use by a competition-record 8.9 percent --enough to power 150 homes for a month or the equivalent of nearly $17,700 in energy bills". The three winning buildings now have a chance to win prizes including scholarships, gift cards and pizza parties. Residents from each building have a short window to send in essays about their efforts to save energy.

All of this is part of UCF's long term plan to transform into a greener campus. By 2011, "the Center for Energy and Sustainability wants to reduce UCF’s energy consumption up to 20 percent in all education and general buildings". To read more about the green contest, you can head over to the University of Central Florida.

Comcast Testing Higher-Speed Internet

Think your high-speed Internet is fast now? Wait until 2009, when Comcast plans to roll out its new 100 Gbps optical networking. The provider is currently "conducting what it claims is the first test of 100-gigabit-per-second optical networking equipment carrying live Internet traffic over a production fiber infrastructure". The test is happening at the same time as the gathering of the Internet Engineering Task Force, which occurs this week in Philadelphia.

“This is a significant milestone in readying for the deployment of 100-gigabit optics,” said John Scanz, executive vice president of national engineering and technical operations for Comcast. “It’s an enabling building block for going to wideband.” The term "wideband" refers to one of the latest technology hurdles in the high-speed industry that puts several channels together to give users download speeds that are unheard of (100 Mbps or more).

To give an idea of how fast this wideband test is, current broadband speeds operate at around 10 Mbps on the high end for the average home.  If you want to learn more about the test of this blazing fast internet,  feel free to read up on it at Multichannel News.

Mythbusting Hybrids

Thinking about purchasing a hybrid automobile as your next vehicle?

In a recent article, the Star-Telegram out of Ft. Worth analyzes some key things to know about the energy-efficient autos including charging, how the car works and its fuel economy. It's an extremely helpful and informative piece, and should tell you all you need when considering your options for your next vehicle.

To read up on hybrids, visit the Star-Telegram.

Manure Gives Gas to California Homes

It seems that renewable energy stinks.

This week, Pacific Gas & Electric and BioEnergy Solutions opened a pipeline to transfer manure-generated gas. The gas is produced through the use of "digesters", machines that convert manure into gas. This gas, after being refined and separated, is then sent to PG&E, where they plan to use it to run their electrical plant as well as help give natural gas to homes. The process all starts at Vintage Dairy, a 5,000-cow farm.

Apparently the "Vintage Dairy facility is expected to provide enough gas for 1,200 homes." Additionally, BioEnergy expects to "deliver 3 billion cubic feet of gas to PG&E a year, enough gas for 50,000 homes." While being a great renewable energy resource, the process has the added benefit of protecting the environment, since "manure storage facilities are a source of groundwater pollution as well as greenhouse gases".

For more about the "cow power" process, read up on it at CNET.

A New HD Deal

Been looking to jump into the HD pool? Right now might be the perfect time to dive into the high-definition TV world. Best Buy and DIRECTV are teaming up to bring an enticing deal to consumers: buy an HDTV and receive $30 credits per month towards your DIRECTV bill, in order to "upgrade to a high-def service plan."  

According to Chris Homeister, Best Buy's vice president of merchandising for home entertainment services, Best Buy wants to help people experience at home the same quality they witness in stores, and that the company is "making a dramatic statement about the importance of connecting a television to the right source for HD programming."

As with any deal, there are certain terms depending on the nature of your purchase. Head on over to Best Buy to check out the rules of the DIRECTV deal, which is only available in-store.

Teaching for the Digital Transition

On February 17, 2009, the big switch happens in television— analog to digital. In order to adjust for this change, people will have to make sure that they have a television capable of receiving a digital signal, or a set-top box that converts a digital signal to analog. As you can imagine, this is causing quite the stir for consumers and corporations alike. 

To help ease into the transition, the Federal Communications Commission has stepped up, releasing a "digital TV transition education order requiring broadcasters, pay-TV services, retailers and consumer electronics manufacturers to promote awareness of the nation's switch to digital television".

This information will be given to the public through notices on bills, on-air commercials, and more. All are trying to ensure that nobody misses the boat that leaves the analog landscape, sailing off for clearer, high quality shores in the land of digital. To learn more about the education order, visit SkyReport. For more information about the switch to digital, get caught up at Digital Television.